Five reasons the Cleveland Browns will save their season against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Cleveland Browns head into Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals playing a must-win-game in just the second game of the season.
Really, must win? This early? You bet. An 0-2 start basically dooms the Browns chances of making the postseason, again. You better believe the number crunchers broke this one down. Teams that start 0-2 have just an 11 percent of making the playoffs.
Things were really bad against Baltimore, and while losing would be terrible, things could get even worse.
What will Browns Town be like if rookie Joe Burrow outplays Baker Mayfield on Thursday Night Football?
Now, If Mayfield loses a shootout like Derek Anderson lost to Carson Palmer back in 2007, it’s a different story. He would’ve lit up the scoreboard and everyone would be feeling good about Baker again.
But it Mayfield produces another clunker? The Tanking for Trevor chants will grow louder and louder.
Early on, the Browns are the favorites in this game. One site had the Browns as a six-point favorite, which was actually a little surprising.
While that spread may be generous, this is a game the Browns are capable of winning.
Here’s five reasons the Browns will save their season with a Week 2 win over the Bengals.
1. Rookie QB on the road
The reviews from Joe Burrow’s debut are in, and they’re good. No, he didn’t throw for 500 yards and seven touchdowns, but he put his team in a position to win the game.
Granted, Burrow didn’t get the come-from-behind win over the Chargers, but I still think he completed that touchdown pass to A.J. Green, which was ruled incomplete. The game would’ve gone to overtime, had his kicker not shanked the chip-shot field goal, which would’ve tied the game (Bengals kicker Randy Bullock suffered a leg injury on the play).
As for Burrow, the LA Times came up with a headline for Burrow which stated “Burrow didn’t look like a rookie”. He went 23-for-36 and 193 yards. He added 46 yards on the ground, which included an outstanding 23-yard touchdown run.
Burrow, who was Ohio raised in in Athens, continue his career having yet to play a game outside the Buckeye State.
Unfortunately for him, this one’s in Cleveland, as he plays his first road game. Granted, it’s not going to be all that different, as FirstEnergy Stadium will only hold 6,000 fans.
That said, the Browns should be able to gameplan for a rookie quarterback who’s working on three days rest, in theory, anyway. Ugh. I know. There’s been lots of theories regarding the Browns achieving success the past 22 years, but our beloved orange helmets always find a way too screw things up when applying those concepts to the real world.
2. Myles can’t be kept quiet
Myles Garrett might’ve well as been a ghost in Week 1, save for falling on a fumble forced by Larry Ogunjobi in the first quarter of that debacle against the Ravens.
Armed with a new $100 million extension, Garrett can’t be taken out of the game again, and he shouldn’t disappear in this one.
Burrow was sacked three times and hit six against the Chargers. Joey Bosa recorded one of those takedowns, while adding three QB hits. At the very least, Garrett has ate replicate Bosa’s production–and he should be able to get it done.
At left tackle, the Bengals field Jonah Williams. The Alabama product was the team’s No. 1 pick in 2019, but missed the entire campaign due to injury. On the right side, Cincy suits up Bobby Hart. Neither should be a challenge, for Garrett, who was lining up across form Baltimore’ s right tackle in Week 1.
Garrett’s an impact player and he’s being paid like one now. It’s time for him to start making good on that label on Thursday.
If he can’t do that against Cincinnati, he’ll be open to major criticism, and considering his new contract, it’ll come.
3. Odell redeems himself
Are Browns fans souring on Odell Beckham Jr.? You better believe it. A poll conducted by 92.3 The Fan saw 60 percent of respondents favoring a trade of the one-time great.
And while Twitter isn’t the most scientific place to conduct a poll, it does speak to the fan base’s growing frustrations with Beckham. The Browns posted 25,000 pictures of OBJ making one-handed grabs throughout Training Camp, but when he needed to make a three-year catch with two hands, OBJ dropped the ball like it was on fire.
Beckham is still really fast, and he’s supposedly healthy, so I’m counting on the former Giant to redeem himself in Week 2.
Cleveland should have chances to hit on downfield plays, and if Beckham gets one-on-one coverage, he and Baker can make everyone forget about how ugly Week 1 was.
The key for the Browns will be getting Beckham the ball within the natural flow of the game. Forcing Beckham the ball is a detriment to the offense. When Stefanski started calling for it against Baltimore, it’s like the entire offense went in the tank.
4. Stefanski realizes his error with Chubb
Kevin Stefanski has to realize the error of getting away from Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. At his press conference, he conceded the scoring margin was spread too far apart to keep running the ball.
The Bengals offense doesn’t have the reigning MVP, though, so keeping Cincinnati contained should be an attainable goal for the defense.
With that in mind, the Browns must control the clock while moving the chains on offense. That means feeding Chubb and Hunt.
Chubb had just 11 touches in Week 1. He is by far, the Browns’ best offensive weapons. To limit him to 11 touches is a fireable offense–just ask Freddie Kitchens.
Heck, even if the Browns get down 14, they’ve got to continue to trust the rushing attack. If they don’t, we’ll just see a repeat of what we watched in Baltimore, even against a lesser team like the Bengals.
5. Interior run stopping
Bengals running back Joe Mixon rushed the ball just 19 times for 69 yards against the Chargers in Week 1, which served as a reminder that Cincinnati’s offensive line isn’t a team strength.
I’ve touched on Garrett already, but his fellow interior lineman, Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson played very well against the Ravens and should be to control the interior when the Bengals lean on the rush.
It’s a strategy as old as time. Stop the run and put the other team’s rookie quarterback into 3rd and 7 passing situations. The Bengals really struggled protecting Burrow (Bosa’s aforementioned sack and three hits), meaning the Browns’ defensive line could emerge as the star of the game.
Big things were expected from Ogunjobi last season, but the Browns have seemingly gone back to the strategy that made him an effective player between 2017-2018 in that he’s shooting gaps, not just shedding blockers.
The result from Week 1: Ogunjobi was PFF’s top graded lineman.